A little delay in posting these…
Supreme Court to Take Up Greenhouse Gas Limits | Mother Jones
Why the Supreme Court Taking On Greenhouse Gases Isn’t As Bad As It Looks
What Happens Once the Supreme Court Rules on Greenhouse Gases?
A little more recent:
BEIJING — Visibility shrank to less than half a football field and small-particle pollution soared to a record 40 times higher than an international safety standard in one northern Chinese city as the region entered its high-smog season.
The density of fine particulate matter, PM2.5, used as an indicator of air quality was well above 600 micrograms per cubic meter — including several readings of exactly 1,000 — for several monitoring stations in Harbin, according to figures posted on the website of China’s environmental protection agency. They were the first known readings of 1,000 since China began releasing figures on PM2.5 in January 2012, and it was not immediately clear if the devices used for monitoring could give readings higher than that.
A safe level under WHO guidelines is 25 micrograms per cubic meter.
Super Smog Images
Thanks, PJ. I’ve read that China’s cancer rates are spiraling. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of air and water quality here as result of frac sand mining.
Hi Emma,
Sad to hear China’s cancer rates are spiraling, but given China’s air pollution problem it is unsurprising. The World Health Organization recently declared air pollution a carcinogen that causes cancer in human beings.
Excellent point about industrial sand, thank you for mentioning it – the concern with crystalline silica is the same particulate number. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the cumulative effect over time spells disaster. Silica emissions are toxic and induce a slew of pulmonary diseases. Period. How much have frac sand interests given to Walker’s campaigns? I’m not sure but I think it’s upward of 500,000. But really, the bottom line for keeping frac sand mining at bay is ameliorating (preferably eliminating) anti-government attitude that keeps deregulation and unsustainable industrial development a reality in the minds of the electorate.
Another report on China’s toxic smog:
In China’s Polluted Cities, the Smog May Be Here to Stay